Rainbow After the Storm
by iheartanime434
Summary: Korra is still very emotional from being abducted by Amon, although, a certain firebender may just turn her world around completely, and change her for the better.
1. A Good Start to the Day

**A/N: Hello fellow people, this is my VERY first fanficition, I really hope you like it~**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Legend of Korra, or any of the characters or settings**

**- Rainbow after the Storm -**

Korra woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for air from the relentless nightmare that has haunted her dreams since her encounter with Amon on Aang Memorial Island.

"It was just a dream..." she whispered drearily.

So far, Amon has haunted her every thought since he captured her that night. She's never felt so scared in all her life; but what makes things worse is that she knows that every day is just day closer for Amon to come after her again. She hugs her knees to her chest, trying to calm down. Her eyes focus aimlessly into the dark, reviewing that night over.

_ Korra slowly opened her eyes, taking in the view around her. She remembered that she was surrounded by equalists and tried to get away. But they all hit her pressure points to where she couldn't move. She looked around, noticing all the equalists in the shallow light. Two of them pulled her off the ground, and she looked up to see Amon slowly walking out from the shadows. Korra gasped, eyes widening in fear. _

"_I received your invitation, young Avatar," he affirmed in his low menacing voice._

_Korra looked up helplessly at him, wishing so desperately for a way out. Then Amon slowly reached his hand down to her face. She stared at the hand that took so many innocent people's bending, then turned from the hand and closed her eyes tight, waiting for her fate. But instead, he pulls her face towards him, forcing her to look at him. _

"_Our showdown, while inevitable, is premature. Although, it would be the simplest thing to take away your bending right now.." Korra's heart stopped at this. "I won't. You'd only become a martyr." His cold eyes narrowed; he let her face go and she looked down in despair. But she looked up again, determined to not give up. _

_Amon continued. "Benders of every nation would rally behind your untimely demise. But I assure you, I have a plan, and I'm saving you for last. Then, you'll get your duel. And I will destroy you." Korra's expression again turned into pure terror. Then he rose up, and hit a pressure point of hers. She fell down, and the last thing she saw was Amon looking down on her, with his piercing eyes._

While that night still sent shivers down her spine, her nightmares were worse. In her nightmare, she'd lose her bending at his hands. Again and again and again, it never went away. She still has the same dream every night. She continued to look back on her nightmares.

Suddenly, Korra heard a loud snap outside her opened window. She quickly snapped out of her flashback, jumped straight up out of the bed and got into her waterbending position, prepared for the worst to happen. She slowly walked towards the window, jumped out quickly and looked around. Her shoulders relaxed and her once deadly expression broke down into a grin when she realized it was just Naga.

"Hey there girl," she whispered, aware of the others sleeping in the temple. She looked up from Naga to the once starry sky, realizing it's almost morning. Then she looked towards the vast waters of the Yue Bay, glistening brightly against the slowly rising sun. Breaking away, she remembered that she had probending practice today. She reluctantly walked back to her room and got ready for the day.

"_Oh great, more lectures from Mr. Hat Trick," _Korra thought. Don't get her wrong, she enjoys probending more than anything. It procrastinates her airbending, and she gets to kick ass without being given ten tickets by Lin. It's just a certain someone made practice very irritating. Mako. He's always criticizing her about something; whether it's from her stance to how off her aim would be on an opponent. Putting all that aside, Korra liked Mako pretty well, maybe even more than she's supposed to. But it was his constant nagging that got to her. Even so, she's been liking him more and more every day, which only made her feel more conflicted.

She broke out of her frustrating contemplation and thought on different moves she needed to work on for the day, as she put on her regular outfit and hairpieces. Once she finished, she shuffled towards the Probending Arena and stopped at the waters that separated them.

"_An early morning swim. Just what I needed," _she thought sarcastically. She took a deep breath and dived in the cold water. She swam over to the Probending Arena swiftly. She soon arrived and jumped out of the water. She scowled and waterbent all the water off her body. She was just about to enter the arena when she heard someone "ahem" behind her. She whirled around to see a very familiar firebender soaking wet, grimacing. "Hey! I'm so sorry about that, Mako," Korra apologized, grinning a bit though. Although she felt guilty, she also thought it was hilarious and very ironic, seeing a firebender soaking wet. She felt as if she were going to laugh at any moment. He shook his head, and tried shaking some of the water off.

"Nice to see you too," he replied sarcastically. Although he was annoyed being splashed and all, he adored the smile on Korra's face. _"Wait! I can't think this way about her right now. Focus, Mako, focus," _he ordered himself. Before he could argue anymore with his conscience,

"So what are we practicing today, all-knowing-Mako?" Korra teased, stretching a bit.

Mako was about to reply before he realized that it was Sunday. He thought maybe they could take a break for today. Besides, Bolin will probably be out, autographing and talking to fans knowing him. So they could hang out for some time today. Even though Korra can be really loud and irritating at times, she's one of the most brave and caring people he's ever known. He kind of knew that before, but since they went to save his brother, he realized it. Since they went to save Bolin, Mako and Korra connected a little better since then.. And since that day, his feelings for her got even stronger. But these feelings just made everything harder on him, seeing that he can't really focus much on probending anymore. So he pushes her away by criticizing her constantly. Mako didn't want to, but he thought it would be safe. He had his boundaries after all… But he really did like her and it was their day off. For just today, he wasn't going to be so conserved. _"Screw Boundaries," _Mako decides, determined_._

"Well, I was actually wondering if.." Mako murmured anxiously. Korra gives him a questioning look. For some odd reason, her heart sped up, expecting something different. "Wondering..?" she asks.

"_What happened, Mako? What happened to "SCREW BOUNDARIES"? _ Mako's inner voice ridicules him. This little remark made a spark of fire go off internally, and knowing Mako, his pride gets to him too easily. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to town with me today. Maybe just hangout. What do you think?" The firebender asks boldly, his face burning scarlet red.

Korra blushed as well. She never thought Mako would ever ask her anything like this. Although she was surprised, she was also very ecstatic. Her mind was going a bit wild, trying to decide on how to respond. Before she could reply, Mako stammered

"I – I know we need to practice and all, but I thought since it's Sunday and all, and uh, since I already need to get some things from town anyway, and since you're here, I thought uh—" Korra placed a finger on his mouth, which only made his blush deepen in color. She looked at him with a glint of excitement, but understanding in her sky blue eyes. She laughed lightly, and a bit shakily.

"Calm down, I'd love to, okay?" Korra said, smiling brightly, bringing her hand back from Mako's face. Mako blinked a few times, then sighed with relief and smiled a bit.

"Okay then," he replies, feeling like a ton of weight has been lifted of his shoulders. Korra laughs heartily and says

"I'm gonna have to show you how to chill for once today and stop being so tense all the time," poking his shoulder teasingly. Mako laughs a bit, feeling more fiery than usual.

"And I'm going to have to show you how to actually take things seriously. Oh well, at least you're not knocking contestants off the side of the ring again," he counters, a crooked grin sliding across his face. Korra's mind goes blank for a second and blushes brightly.

"Hey! It's because _SOMEONE_ didn't bother to tell me the rules!" she flusters embarrassed, eyebrows furrowing. Mako chuckled and raised his hands in mock defeat.

"Alright alright, I'm sorry. We going to go now or what? Everyone will probably be swarming everywhere by the time we get there now." Korra forgets her embarrassment for a second.

"Yeah, sorry" she grins, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "So we taking Naga or..?" Mako inquires. Korra's eyebrow arches a little, laughing as if he asked a stupid question. "Naga, of course!" she exclaims, grinning. She whistles for Naga, and she appears in a few minutes time.

"Ready to go, city boy?" she asks, hopping on Naga's back, the wind blowing briskly. She reaches out for Mako's hand, waiting for him to hop aboard Naga. He looks up at Korra, fixing to say something else smart allicy, but his breath caught in his throat when he saw the beautiful figure above him. The slow rising, red-orange sun behind her illuminated her dazzling smile. The wind blowing through her brown hair, her sky blue eyes radiant with excitement, and that innocent smile that makes his heart race every time he sees it. Mako stands there, dumbfounded, looking for the words he was going to say. Korra blushes, seeing his fixated expression. She looks around her warily, thinking maybe there was something behind her. _"Nope, nothing here."_ Then she looks back, arching an eyebrow, confused.

"You okay, Mako?" He snaps out of his fixation, and saw Korra with a concerned look on her face. He shook his head with a sheepish smile. "I'm fine, let's go." He grabs her hand, Korra pulling him up on Naga's back. "You might wanna hold on tight," she informs. Mako laughs, "I'll be fine, just focus on where we're going," he replies.

"Haha, alright," she responds, smiling._ "Maybe today won't be so bad," _Korra thinks.


	2. Author's Note

**A/N: ~~Hi guys! I really hope you like the story so far, I will be posting more chapters, so it'll get better. :3 Please review, maybe give some writing tips, suggestions, they're both welcome :) thanks so much for reading! By the way, it's rated T for language and some *ahem* adult like situations. You'll see what I mean soon ;P Oh and I suppose I could give a better summary. Summary: Korra is still recovering from her encounter with Amon, she has the same nightmares every night, and it seems as if the life is being sucked out of her by this. But a very familiar fire bender will try and help her forget those things, and return her happy personality. Maybe even become closer than a friend. END How's that? I tried, well, I'll be writing the next chapter soon, hope you enjoy it :)**


	3. Secrets Bursting Out the Seams

**A/N: It's finally here :D it gets a little bit spicy in this one, just letting you know ;D and I know what you're thinking, this came out faster than you thought. I've just been having the whole plot in my head for a while, and I've just been in a very kind of writing mood. It's become a new fun thing for me, writing. ANYWAYS I hope you guys like it and here it is ~~**

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own The Legend of Korra, the characters or any of the settings. **

"Let's go then!" Korra exclaimed, and off they went. Although, she pulled Naga back, further away from where the town was, which confused Mako a bit. "What are you doing?" he thought out loud. Korra grinned mischievously, looking back at him. "You'll see," she replied slyly. Then he finally realized when Naga started running _towards_ the water. "Wait, no, are we—" he started yelling as Naga was diving straight for the water.

Mako was panicking; he shut his eyes tight and held his breath for as long as he thought he could before he heard Korra laughing hysterically. Then he opened up his eyes to see that they were, in fact, under the water, but there was a huge air bubble surrounding them as Naga swam through the water.

"You gonna breathe any time soon?" She teased in between breaths of her laughter. Mako's face burned, he folded his arms and looked away, out into the water. But the more he did, the more he became fascinated with it. Although, he never did like water (well, big quantities of it) even as a kid. It always felt weird to him (since he's been firebending his whole life) and he was always intimidated by it. When his family went to the beach when he was little, he never went out into the water, even when Bolin would beg and beg him countless times. He would take showers of course, but he just didn't know what made him so overwrought about it. He guessed he was just always afraid of drowning, but he never spoke about it of course. But today was the first time he's ever been in a large amount of water. _Literally. _He saw all the little oxygen bubbles flying frantically in erratic patterns everywhere, flowing behind them as Naga swam at an amazing speed. He even saw a few unique looking fish swimming hurriedly beside them.

"You alright, Mako? You look like you've never seen the bay before," Korra asked, a little amused, seeing how absorbed he was at the sight of everything. He eventually answered sarcastically "Yeah, I'm fine, it's not like I don't see the inside of the bay every day, you know," she rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"You sure? You looked almost paralyzed when we dived into the water," she adds. He flinched, and he blushed a little. "I don't know about you, but I can't hold my breath for hours like you can. I didn't know you could make an air bubble at the time. Next time, give me a memo before you give me a heart attack again, okay?" he replied a little too smart-alecky. Korra laughed at this. "I'll remember to write it down in big letters next time," she retorted banteringly, grinning.

Soon, they arrived at the other side of Air Temple Island. "Hold on tight, we'll be jumping pretty high in the air, so try not to fall off," she warned. Mako nodded and held to Naga's long, white fur for dear life almost.

One second he was underwater, the next he saw that he was at least 20 feet in the air. He then realized that his whole body was off of Naga, extended in the air; only his hands connected himself to his safe place. The ground. His eyes opened wide, and on instinct, he let go out of fright, and fell towards the water once again. He screamed, and Korra looked back, eyes widening in alarm. She extended one hand out, just able to catch his before he fell back to hell, he would call it. All of this happened pretty quickly, in just a few seconds they landed pretty harsh, well, for Mako at least. He landed pretty hard on Naga's rigid back. Korra smirked a little.

"I told you to hold on tight, didn't I?" she scolded, but in a mocking tone. Mako was still panting for breath, and a bit shaken up. When Korra said this, he looked up at her incredulously, but just shook his head and didn't bother to say anything. They soon hoped off Naga and started walking towards town. Korra looked over at Mako, seeing he was still a little wild eyed.

"Damn Mako, did it scare you that bad?" she taunted, although feeling a little worried for him. Mako looked over at Korra, seeing she was teasing again.

Then he grinned a bit and asked brashly "Since when did you care so much about my well-being?" This stopped Korra completely for a moment. She saw Mako, arching an eyebrow at her, smirking, waiting for an answer. And seeing how truculent Korra is already, she blushed brightly, looking away and said

"Don't be conceited, at least I don't scream about getting a little wet." Now it was Mako's turn to be embarrassed. This made his face _blaze _in color. He stopped abruptly, clenching his hands at his side. Korra saw this, and grinned smugly, knowing she won.

"Oh come on, I was literally floating 20 feet in the air," his voice rising, his cheeks still burning. Korra added "Don't even try. I saw your expression; you looked like you were about to die if you hit the water," she continued. He looked down, very agitated. He then looked away, crossing his arms, knowing he was beat.

"Your point is?" Korra's grin widened. She decided to give the boy a break for a moment. Besides, she saw the supermarket nearby. Mako did as well, and wanted to avoid being embarrassed any further. He needed groceries anyways. "Hey, there's the supermarket," he pointed out. "It okay if we stop there for a few minutes?" he asked politely. "Sure!" Korra responded.

They walked into the cool, atmosphere of the supermarket, the smell of fresh food and the clean floor filling their noses. "I'm gonna go get a few groceries, okay?" he told Korra. "Okay, don't get lost now!" she replied, smiling. Mako rolled his eyes at her comment. "Yeah, sure, try not getting into trouble this time," he asked. Korra smiled sheepishly, "Aye Aye, Captain," she reassured, doing a mock salute. Mako shook his head, and smiled to himself. _"Crazy girl..."_ he thought contentedly. They both walked in their separate ways, one getting groceries, one not know what the hell she's doing.

Mako goes down random aisles, picking up foods that Bolin liked first while thinking about the young avatar. Things were going pretty well between them, he thought. Even if she does insinuate that he's afraid of water. He thought about how nice she looked as well. Maybe he'd compliment her. Mako blushed at this thought. _"I couldn't do that. I don't want to make things complicated between us..."_ he thought carefully. _"You're kidding, right?"_ his inner voice berates him. _"I'm sorry, who are you?"_ Mako questions his…whatever it is. _"I'm your conscience, Mako. I'm the one that persuades you to make the decisions you do." _The conscience explains. "_That's….not creepy."_ Mako thought sarcastically. _"It's not. And if I'm creepy, I guess I'm creepy for helping you get a date, is that right?" _This remark made Mako stumble into a man getting bread from the shelf. "Watch where you're going!" the man yelled. Mako apologized and continued. "_Okay, first off, it ISN'T a date, second off, you're an ass." _"_Thanks Bro,"_ his inner voice said. _"This day couldn't get weirder," _Mako thought, creeped out.

Korra wandered around, going to different aisles. Then she saw some water tribe food down one random isle she saw. She went and eyed all the delicious food. She saw everything from Sea Squid to the delicious Sea Prunes her mother would make on special occasions. Her heart went heavy with nostalgia, looking back at her memories of home.

"_What if Amon goes after them?"_ a thought goes through her head out of nowhere. Her eyes widen and her whole body freezes with fear at this thought. She continues to contemplate on that thought. What if he did go after them? What would she do? Would she surrender? Would she fight to get them back? What would he do to them? If it weren't for where she was at the time, she'd probably be cowering down on the ground that moment. She hugs her arms to her chest, looking down dejectedly.

"Well well, if it isn't the dear young Ah-vatar Korra," a snobbish voice says behind her. Korra turns around and her eyes narrow coldly, seeing Tahno with his arms crossed, and his posse with him, smiling smugly. _"Fantastic."_ Korra thought disgustedly. She was already in a bad mood already and now these guys show up just to mess with her head. Instead of going off on them for showing up, she removes her deadly expression and plasters a cocky smile on her face.

"Hey there Tahno. The hair gel is on aisle 4 if you're lost," she taunts. This caught Tahno by surprise and his once very cool demeanor was replaced by a look of shock. He quickly changes it and laughs it off.

"Ah Korra, that hurts my heart. No need to be so mean," he says with a fake tone of sadness. Korra scoffed at this. "Says the douche that cheats in every tournament. Tell me, how many times did you have to bang the referee before he gave you that advantage?" Korra said boldly, grinning wide.

Tahno's mouth gaped at this. Even one of his "friends" snickered at this. He glared at his friend and he stopped immediately. "Oh come now, why must you taunt me like this. Seeing how very weak you are already," he counters. Korra's eyebrows furrowed in anger at this. She stepped up to Tahno, in what you might call his personal bubble. "What was that?" Korra demanded, her voice rising. Tahno smirks widely at this. He looks at her with mock disbelief.

"Oh, you didn't hear? You of all people should know, seeing that even the great avatar couldn't beat Amon, even when he's right next to her face," he says with a glint of mischief in his eyes. Korra's eyes look at him incredulously, her mouth gaping wide. Tahno smiles wickedly "Yes young avatar, I know your little secret. I know that even when you were right next to Amon, he still had you in his clutches. What happened? Someone got too scared?" he jeers. Korra was about to curse him out, but she knew it was useless. She looked down, feeling cornered, holding herself tightly, and whispered "It wasn't like that." Tahno laughed at this.

"We know what happened, Korra. Don't act like we don't," he said seriously. Korra was outraged by this; she looked up and glared at him. "How do you know? You weren't there!" she yelled. "Calm down, Korra. You might want to keep your voice down. You wouldn't all of those little fans of yours to know that even the great Avatar, couldn't beat Amon when he was right at you," he threatens.

Korra didn't say anything after that. She looked down, trapped and defeated. "Good girl. Now unless you don't want your little secret spread around to every nation of people, you'll follow _our _rules. You keep your mouth shut about how we run our tournaments, we'll keep ours shut about your weakness," he proposes, reaching a hand up to her face, making her look at him.

"Deal?" he says, smiling vilely. Korra glares at him, then looks down, knowing she's beat. "Come now, don't look like that. Who knows, this little agreement may come with another price as well…" he hand travels down Korra to where it really shouldn't.

"You won't do a damn thing to her," Mako intrudes, grabbing his hand away from Korra. Tahno was taken by surprise by this. Korra didn't even sense him; she looks over at him, giving him a grateful look. Tahno sneers, snatching his hand back. "This doesn't concern you, street rat," he says nastily. Mako's anger takes control after this comment. He slams Tahno against the wall with one hand, while one disappears in a ball of fire. "It does now. Back off," he says in such a deadly tone, it even worried Korra. She's pissed off Mako many times before, but this… she _never_ saw him like this. Tahno cackles at this.

"Or what? What will you do? Burn me? You know if you fight me, your giving up that nice little attic you have, all your chances of winning will vanish like your dear parents," he responds wickedly. Mako's fire flared so big it almost burned one of the near shelves. Korra runs up and tries to pull him back.

"Mako, it isn't worth it! Stop!" she begs. He looks over at Korra, seeing her expression filled with worry and hurt. His flame vanished at this, and he looks down a little disappointed, Korra holding his arm tight. Tahno fixes his now wrinkled shirt. Then he laughs really hard.

"So sad but so true, even if you were to try and pummel me to death, you'd lose either way, such sad circumstances," he laughs even harder at this. Korra looks up at him with the most lethal look. Then she grabs him by the collar, pulling him towards her. "We _never_ lose. And we'll prove it. You've made your little deals, now it's my turn." She continues to look at him with a look so scary, even Tahno cowered a bit at her. "You think you and your little girlfriends are such hot shit? Prove it. On our next tournament, we'll be fighting you. If we win, you don't say a thing about anything. We lose... you do whatever you want." She proposes. Deal?" Tahno looked down and scoffed at this.

"Why would I want to do that? I'm gonna win anyways," he says smugly. Korra laughs jeeringly. "I knew it. You're too scared to fight me. You _know_ you won't win. I can't wait to tell my dear friend the referee about this," Korra turns, walking towards the exit. Tahno's eyes narrow. "Alright," Tahno agrees. Korra grins this, knowing he'd take the bait. She slowly turned around. "I'll play by your little deal. Just to prove how low you are compared to us," he says, walking towards Korra. Korra grins "Bring it." At this, they turned and left.

Then Korra walked towards Mako, who's still sulking. "You alright?" Korra asked very sincere. He turned to her, smiling a bit. "There you go again with that." Korra looked down and blushed at this. "I'm fine. Better yet, are _you_ okay?" Korra smiled a bit as well, only it was bitter. "I'm fine, thanks so much for coming in when you did," she thanked, looking at him with a grateful smile. "It was no problem," he reassured. Although, I heard the whole thing..." Mako revealed. Korra looked at him timorously at this.

"You did?" she asked frantically, grabbing his arm again. Mako looked at her reassuringly. "Yeah, I won't tell a soul about anything though. I promise, okay?" He consoled, putting a hand on her shoulder. Korra looked down in anguish, putting her hand on his. "It was the scariest thing that's ever happened to me," she said, her body starting to shake rapidly. Mako saw this and pulled her to his chest, stroking her hair comfortingly. "It'll be okay," he whispered in her hair. Although Korra was blushing beyond brightly at this, she was glad she had a friend to go to about stuff like this. She accepted his comfort and hugged him back.

Luckily, there weren't many people there in the early morning; it'd be an awkward sight. But eventually, Mako calmed her down, he bought his things and they were off on the streets again. Korra felt very grateful to him for his help. She even felt a bit lucky and grabbed his hands, which rewarded her with a fiery blush out of him, and him looking at her questioningly. "Thanks, for helping me back there," she thanked again. Mako smiled, and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"It was nothing, stop thanking me. Knowing you, I thought you'd pummel the guy." Korra smiled sheepishly as well at this. "But I saw what dirty game he was playing and I had to interfere. Besides, you saved my brother, and he's the only family I have now. And I'm eternally in your debt for that," he explains. Korra looked at him a little shocked at this. "So now, I guess we're a bit even now, huh?"

Korra laughed at this and replied "Yeah," they smiled at each other and walked to their next destination. _"This days turning out great after all," _Korra decided.

**A/N: AWWW, nice ending to this chapter I'd say :) Yes, I included Tahno, I know, he seems like a real douche right now. But honestly, I like him, and he'll change soon in the story. :3 I really hope you're liking the story so far. Please review, give some tips maybe, hope you liked it~~~~**


	4. With Him

**A/N: Hello again :D I'm so glad some of you liked my last chapter, yes, it was an…interesting one 8D Well, I hope you like this one, (I've been writing…a lot lately xD) well, here it is~**

It was a slow morning after the little incident in the market for Korra and Mako. They walked down the streets in silence for a few moments. Mako was just trying his damnest to come up with a conversation. He wasn't exactly the talkative Bolin, you'd might say. He just looked out awkwardly, thinking about something. He finally found something interesting to talk about and just opened his mouth to speak.

"So..." Korra starts. _"Well fuck. So much for you starting a conversation,"_ Mako's inner voice jeered. _"Go. Away."_ Mako warns. "You excited for our final tournament?" Korra asks cheerily, smiling brightly. And once again, it caught Mako off-guard, but he caught himself this time, and replied "Of course!" he exclaims.

"You know, we really couldn't have done it without you Korra, thanks a lot for joining our team," Mako appreciatively, smiling gratefully towards the young Avatar. This rewards him with a light blush from her and a sheepish smile. "It was nothing, thanks for welcoming me into the team! Even though you were a bit of an asshole in the beginning," Korra teases honestly. This made Mako stop completely for a moment. His eyes twitch a little bit and he turns to Korra and demands incredulously

"What was that?" Korra noticed this and smirks. "Oh come now, must I give you a brief review?" Mako looks at her disbelievingly. "Yes! I never did anything to you!" he exclaimed. Korra laughed at this. "Maybe you can start from how you actually _got _in the arena," he asked, giving her a questioning look. "Haha, alright," she replied. They sat down on a local bench on the street, and she gave him a review on how she got there in the first place. Her eyes looked forward, going to a world only she could see.

_Korra opened the window cautiously, seeing one of the white lotus guards outside. Once he walked out of sight, she jumped silently out the window. Looking to see if the coast is clear, she makes a run for the Yue Bay at the end of the island. Korra didn't care what Tenzin said, she was GOING to a probending match; even if she had to sneak out. She soon made it to a high cliff above the waters and she jumped into the frigid waters and swam swiftly and gracefully towards the bright lights of the Probending Arena._

_She finally made it, and rose out of the water, gasping for air. She looks up and sees an open window. She grins, and waterbends water all around her, pushing her up towards the window. She then jumps in quickly, waterbending herself dry. She looks around her warily, looking at her surroundings. She went through a few rooms, taking in everything. She then turns to find the training area for the probenders. She smiled with excitement, and walked in the spacious room. _

_She noticed all the weights and the resources they used. Then she heard an old voice behind her call irritably "Hey! What are you doing in my gym?" she turns to see an old man in his "training suit" with a towel around his neck and a scowl on his face. She tries to come up with an excuse; she then uses the oldest one in the book. She puts on an innocent face and says "Uh, I was just looking for a bathroom and I got lost," she put on an honest face. He points a finger and proclaims "Ah, the old "I-had-to-pee" excuse." "He caught me," Korra thought. "You know, I'm sick and tired of you kids sneaking in without paying! I'm taking you to security," the man informed harshly. Korra panicked at this point. "No, wait—" _

"_There you are!" Korra turns to see a handsome young guy in a probending uniform with a baby-like face and a cute button nose come towards her. She looks at him appreciatively. "I've been looking everywhere for you!" he exclaims. "It's alright, Toza. She's with me," he affirms, smirking, while Toza is looking at him like it's complete and total bull-crap. "Yeah, I'm with him," Korra agrees. _

"_So, you see, we're together," he declares. "This guy did NOT just try that," Korra thought in disbelief. "Well, not together-together, just friends," Korra explains. The guy looks over feeling a bit sorry he said anything. "Right, friends, no no, I didn't mean to imply," the baby faced guy corrects, faltered. Korra arches an eyebrow at him. "Oh, you implied it," she replied, a little skeptical about the guy. Toza looked like he really couldn't care less. _

"_Whatever, whatever, I don't care who you are, I got work to do!" he yells agitatedly, throwing a towel to the ground and stomping off. "Rrrrright this way, miss," he young man directs. Korra smirked at this, "Thank you, sir," she replies politely, walking away with him. She then lifts a hand and whispers. "Seriously, thanks," and they walk off._

Mako's just sitting there, chuckling, shaking his head; not surprised knowing how his brother is. He was always inviting random girls in. Until Korra that is. "I'm not surprised, he's always bringing girls in," he explains, grinning at how easily she snuck in. Then he asked a question without thinking it through.

"So he claimed you as his girlfriend?" Korra arched an eyebrow at his question, but answered anyway. "Yeah, it caught me off guard," she said abashed. "Why?" she added. Mako looked over at her, and then quickly turned away, saying "No reason." Korra smiled at this, turning towards him, about to taunt him more before he asked quickly

"So what exactly made me an ass by the first impression?" Korra smiled widely at this and answered banteringly "Oh, it wasn't the first impression; you can always be an ass." Mako's mouth gaped at this, and yelled "Hey!" Then elbowed her shoulder playfully; Korra giggling in return. Oh, how he adored the sound. He smiled affectionately, eyes growing soft. He snapped out of it just before Korra looked up and let go of her stomach from laughing.

She looked up and asked "So you still wanna know?" Mako nods his head. Korra laughs and continues. "Example #1," she begins.

"_C'mere, I want you to meet my brother, Mako," Bolin introduces, pushing her forward. Korra looked excitedly towards the young, tall firebender. She extended a hand and stammered "Mako, wow, I-I heard you play on the radio!" Mako walks by her as if she wasn't there, uninterested. He ignores her and says sternly "Come on Bolin, we're up." Korra looks down; "Or I could meet him later…" she says uncertainly, looking down at her unshaken hand. _

Mako blushed brightly at this. "I-I didn't mean to do that, I was just so focused on the match and all, and I—" "Don't even try it! You had no interest in meeting me at all!" Korra interrupted. Mako looked down, embarrassed. He looked up again, "I really didn't mean to, you know," he said stubbornly. Korra shrugged her shoulders, and let it go. "Alright, if you say so," she says, smirking. "Now, for example #2," she starts again. _"Here we go again…"_ Mako thought, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"_You guys were incredible out there!" Korra commented on the two boy's performance. Mako continues to ignore her, and kept walking forward. Korra continued on, pointing at Mako "Especially you, Mr. Hat Trick!" she commended. Mako finally acknowledged her and asked scornfully "Oh, you're still here?" Korra's eyebrows furrowed in frustration, shoulders slumping forward. "Oh you're still a jerk?" she mumbled. _

Mako looked at her in disbelief at this. "I was just asking a question!" he exclaimed. Korra rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, just keep denying me," she teased. "Example #3!" Mako was already blushing so much; he didn't think he could take anymore.

_Bolin gave Korra some advice on her earthbending stance. "Okay, let me try it again," she replied understanding. She tried adjusting her once sturdy stance to standing upright, jumping from left to right, sending two disks flying in perfect synch at the fish net. "Wow! Nice adjustment! You're a natural at this," Bolin turned to her and commended. "Not bad," Mako added disinterested. Korra had just about enough of him already. "What's it take to impress this guy?" she wonders out loud. "What? I said not bad," Mako replied, a little agitated. Korra looked at him, arching an eyebrow, wondering who shoved a stake up his ass. _

"_You know what, it's getting late. I think I'm gonna turn in. You kids have fun," Mako announced, seeming almost exasperated. "KIDS?" Korra thought. Mako turned to Korra, "Nice to meet you, Avatar Korra," Mako says formally, then stalks off. Korra waves at him; "Yeah, been a real pleasure," Korra replied mordantly._

Mako's now cowering in embarrassment now, covering his ears, his face beyond burning red. "Please. Just stop," he begged. Korra's just laughing her ass off right now. "Okay, I was an ass. I'll admit it. I just dealt with the same old stuff over and over and over again with all the other girls that Bolin brought in, and well, I just didn't feel like dealing with it again. I feel really guilty about it now, so just please stop," he pleaded. Korra almost felt sorry him, the way he looked.

"It's okay, I forgive you now, I just wanted you to admit it," she admitted a little timidly. Mako looked up at her beyond incredulous. Before he could exclaim anything, Korra started snickering hard at his now scarlet red face and his expression just killed her.

Mako rolled his eyes and added "Look, if it makes you feel any better, and will make you stop messing with my head," Korra grinned at this. "I want you to know you're different from any other girl I've ever met." This comment made Korra's laughter stop immediately and she looked up at Mako, shocked at what he said, her heart beating erratically. "I... am?" she asked slowly and shyly, smiling a bit. Mako saw this and a grin slid across his face fast. "The one and only," he added boldly, but his voice soft. Korra smiled so wide at his comment. They were both captivated in each other's eyes, both of them feeling as nervous and erratic as the other. She looked down, her face literally glowing. She side-looked at him, "I'm glad you think so," she finally replied. Mako smiled at her comment. Mako then added "Hey, it worked." Smirking when Korra realized what it meant. "Shut up," his smirk widened. It then seemed like nothing could break that moment, but of course, there's always something that does.

"Oh my goodness, aren't you Mako, the probender?" A teenage girl surrounded by a crowd of friends asked ecstatically. Mako looks up, a little more than just upset that they interrupted. "Yep, that's me," he replied aloof. The girls looked at each other, squealing. Korra cringed at this they screamed so loud; they must have woken up Pema all the way back at Air Temple Island. And that's saying a lot.

"Do you think we could have an autograph?" The girl asked politely. Mako looked down and sighed deeply, fixing to refuse before he felt someone nudging his shoulder. He looked over to see Korra prodding him to do what they wanted, smiling encouragingly at him. _"Fight it Mako, fight the smile,"_ Mako ordered himself again. Then he looked at her eyes by mistake and soon gave up, stood up and started signing. The girls were elated by his decision. Korra looked up amused, grinning, resting her elbow on her knee, her hand cupping her face.

"So who's she?" A girl asks, pointing at Korra sitting on the bench, who's spacing out, not really paying attention. Mako looks at them ludicrously, smiling a bit though. "You don't know who she is?" he asks with mock disbelief. Korra looks up at him, wondering what's going on. "No, not really. Why? Is she important?" she asks a little too scornfully. Korra's eyebrows twitch and her mouth gaping at her remark. _"Why that little…" _Korra thought outraged.

"My goodness, how could you not. This here is the one and only Avatar!" Mako exclaims. Korra sits there, amused and snickering at his spurious manner. Some girls look down at her at surprise while others whisper things about her to each other, laughing at each other in the process, while Korra held hands at her side, her fists clenched, looking like she might blow any second hearing their rude comments on her. Mako saw this and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, smiling. She smiles back up at him. Mako turns to see a whole crowd of people surrounding them now. Korra notices too, and they both become intimidated, knowing they couldn't meet all of them. Korra then stands up, and grabs Makos hand.

"Follow me," she instructs. Mako looks over at her confused, but he nods. Korra then quickly jumps up in the air, and hops across every person in the street. Some try and follow but they couldn't keep up with her rapid speed. It was even hard for Mako to keep up. They ran a few blocks, turning corners. Then they see a dark alley way, with a large, green metal trash bin down it.

"Down here!" Korra told Mako. Mako nods again. They went down the alley, went behind the garbage bin, and slammed their backs against the large trash bin, both panting for breath. They suddenly hold their breath and looked over nervously, hearing people searching for them, just to meet them.

They then look at each other, both looking frantic and disheveled. They both began laughing out of nowhere, just from the rush of adrenaline, the atmosphere feeling convivial. They slowed down their laughter a bit and Mako questioned "Why are we even laughing?" Korra laughed even more at this. "I don't even know!" she exclaims, throwing her hands in the air. She looks down and smiles wistfully for a moment, which worried Mako a bit. "I've missed days like this, you know. Where I could be happy and laugh freely, without a care," she says, opening up. Mako looks over concerned.

"I don't know if I should be asking this, but… what happened between you and Amon?" he inquired anxiously. Korra looked at him desolately, and looked down again, hugging her arms to her again. Mako added quickly "Of course, if you don't want to tell, that's completely understandable." He assured. Korra then shook her head and smiled bitterly.

"It's okay, I'll explain," she then saw the flashback she saw every day and every night. "Well, you know that day I challenged Amon publicly?" she asked. Mako nodded. "Well, I went to Aang Memorial Island, waiting for him. I waited few hours after midnight for him to come, and I thought he didn't. So I eventually was about to leave, but as I went down the island, equalists came out of nowhere and captured me." Mako's eyes widened at this, then she saw anger rise in his eyes. "They didn't do anything to you, did they?" Mako demands. Korra blinks a few times at this. She smiles and tightens her grip on Mako's hand reassuringly.

"I'm fine. They hit my pressure points and knocked me out, but that was it. I woke up a little dazed, and two equalists pulled me up; I still couldn't move at the time. But then I saw Amon come out of nowhere towards me." Mako saw shivers go down her spine, and it wasn't from the cold air either. "He…he told me he got my message, and then he… he brought his hand down towards my head..." Korra was now shaking, her eyes growing wild now. Mako saw that she was in a far world of her own now. He snapped his fingers a few times, trying to bring her back. She then looks back worriedly. Then remembers where she left off.

"He didn't take my bending, obviously, but he told me he wasn't ready to fight me just yet. But he had a plan, and he _will_ destroy me soon." She finishes bleakly, hugging her knees to her chest again, feeling scared and trapped like she has almost every day. Mako looked over at her compassionately. "Korra… I'm so sorry, I had no idea. Everyday you'd come to practice with the same goofy smile on your face. I didn't know you were hiding all this," he said, feeling a bit hurt. Korra saw this and said "I didn't tell you guys because I didn't want to worry you; I knew how focused you two were on winning the next match, I didn't you to worry about me," she explained, not meaning to hurt him. Mako then put his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. Korra flushed at this move, but complied.

"Korra," Mako started, pulling her face gently towards his, now only being just inches away from his. "I don't want you to worry about things like that. If anything's bothering you, I want you to come to Bolin or me. It won't distract us, we just want to be able to help you in any way we can. You've already helped us so much; we want to pay back the favor. Besides, you're basically one of my bestest friends. And friends stick together through everything, no matter what. Okay?" he told her sympathetically, although his feelings for her are a lot stronger than just a friends would be. She looked at him, his ochre eyes filled with so much passion.

"Tell me, have you broken down yet?" Mako asks. This question confuses the young avatar; she gave a questioning look. "What I mean is, have you actually gotten to your breaking point? Where all this depression and anxiety has caused you to do something demented and irrational?" Mako further explains. Korra laughs at his question. "No, of course not. Although…" she stops off. Mako listens closely. "Every day, since that night, it's haunted my every thought. I can't focus; it's all I can ever think about. And every night… I have terrible nightmares. In my nightmares.." Korra's eyes start to water sorrowfully.

"I lose my bending every night. Some nights, I have to witness some of my friends and family lose their bending, even get _killed_ at his hands." And she finally breaks down. She grabs her chest, wishing for a way out of her pain. The tears start flowing freely down her cheeks now. Mako sees this, and he feels a very nostalgic pull at his heart. He realized he's never felt this empathetic since the day he saw Bolin's horrified, tormented face, crying so hard when he saw their parent's destroyed bodies lying on their living room floor after the mugging. That is exactly how he felt right now, seeing Korra tortured like this; it killed him.

He pulls her to his chest affectionately, and held her tight. Korra contently accepted his comfort, and wraps her arms around his slim body tight, and lets her emotions take control, letting the tears flow, knowing she can be herself in front of him. Mako just holds her tight, rubbing her hair again. He whispers "Everything will be alright, Korra. It'll be alright," repeatedly, over and over, trying to comfort her. Soon enough, her tears stopped and she soon settled comfortably into Mako's warm body, feeling safe. And Mako didn't mind, he still held her close. Korra then pulled back, wiping the tears away, and looked into Mako's eyes. "Mako?" She asked, her voice still a bit hoarse from crying.

"Yeah?" he replied. Her stomach growled loudly. She looked down embarrassingly at her stomach. Mako chuckled at this. Korra looked at Mako, noticing she never really heard him laugh until today. It sounded really nice, to her. "Someone's hungry," he states obviously, smirking. Korra gave him a look that said "No shit?" then his stomach rumbled as well, realizing he skipped breakfast that morning, saving it for Bolin. Korra laughed at this as well. Mako smiled sheepishly.

"How about we stop somewhere to eat? You choose the place," Mako offered. Korra's mind went blank, surprised by his generosity. She then returned the smile and said "Sure!" They then realized how close their bodies were intact and they looked up, blushing furiously and separating themselves from each other. Korra was the first to break the awkward silence. "Let's go then," she said, holding her hand out for Mako's again. Mako looked up at her again, still awestruck by her beauty. He smiled and grabbed her hand, Korra pulling him up off the ground. They then made their way towards a restaurant. She went and grabbed his hand, looking up at him appreciatively once again. He returns her look with a smile. Korra looks up at Mako, seeing how much he's done for her already. She wasn't going to be depressed anymore for today, for his sake. _"Even if it is just today, I want to enjoy myself, and be happy for once. Even if my nightmares will be worse tonight, I'm going to have a good time. With him." _Korra thought, happily.

**A/N: Heyy again, I know, this chapter was kind of a slow paced one, it'll get better soon though. I know it's not quite as spicy as the last one, but this chapter is kind of revolving around Korra and Mako's improving relationship, I'll try to come up with something better for the next chapter though, sorry this one's kinda slow . hope you liked it anyways! Please review, give some tips, etc. etc. ~~**


	5. Sanctuary

**A/N: I'm back :D hope you enjoyed the last chapter, even if it was a kind of a hurt/comfort one. Maybe this one will compensate for the last chapter.. ? :3 Hope so, well, here it tis~~~**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. PERIOD. SKALGNBEORYISJGSEWLRTLIEJE**

The two walked down the now sunlit street while Korra is laughing at some crazy story that Mako told her from his childhood. And boy was he enjoying every minute of it. Her laugh just did something crazy to him, it made him more animated...more alive.

"So let me get this straight. You _burned_ the stove to _ashes_ trying to make breakfast for your mom?" Korra asked amused, still in a laughing fit. Mako's cheeks flushed a bit as he replied "Hey, I was only six, what did you expect?" Korra snickered at this, but then looked up admiringly.

"That was really sweet of you though, trying to fix food for your mom while she was sick," she said genuinely. "Even if you did really screw up," she added, giggling more.

Then Mako looked over at her, arching an eyebrow at her. "Oh yeah? Tell me, when was the last time you cooked ANYTHING?" He countered, matter-of-factly. Korra's once ridiculing expression was turned into a look of pure embarrassment. She looked down, fidgeting with her fingers, her face slowly coloring red as she answered

"When I was 10…"

Mako was shocked by this; he then suddenly burst in laughter. Korra crossed her arms, feeling very exasperated. "Shut up! At least I didn't burn the stove!" She snapped. Mako smirked at this; he had a feeling she messed up a _lot_ more than just the stove.

"Then why haven't you cooked since you were 10? What did you do so bad that you stopped cooking?" he asked audaciously, knowing he was getting himself into one hell of a feud.

But to his surprise, she just replied in a low voice "I burned down the whole kitchen…" her face now burning red, still fidgeting. Mako stopped altogether, looking at her in bewilderment. "How in hell did you manage to do that?" he asked, genuinely curious. Korra looked at him, looking like she was about to hit something either out of anger or frustration. Mako grinned even more at her expression.

"I got pissed off because the noodles wouldn't cook fast enough, so I tried making it go faster by, well, firebending heat into it, and well, I got impatient and ending up not only blowing up the pot, but the whole kitchen…" she raved, squirming back and forth. Mako shook his head with disbelief, but looked at her understanding, seeing that she _was_ short-tempered. "Only the Avatar…" he said, laughing. Korra pinched his face at this remark. "Hey!" he yelped. "You were saying?" Korra said peeved, and already embarrassed she even said anything.

"I was only kidding, calm down," he assured, trying to detach her hand. Korra let go and looked down, still a little embarrassed. Mako put a hand on her shoulder, and then smiled. "Chill. Stop being so tense," he said, mocking her words from the early morning. "Hey," Korra grinned and elbowed his arm playfully. Mako smiled at this and chuckled softly, feeling completely content by her side.

"_Aww, someone's falling hard," _Mako's inner voice taunted. _"You've got to be kidding me,"_ Mako thought, so sick of hearing this ass comment on everything he does. _"Yes, I'm back. And I see everything's going terrific between you two love birds," _it replies in mock happiness. Mako blushed at this. _"What are you talking about? We're only friends, and even YOU know that," _Mako confirms. _"Cool story bro, but seriously, I see how you feel about her, I'm not stupid," _It says stubbornly. _"For fucks sake, just leave," _Mako almost begs. _"Oh, so you're admitting to it then?" _it asks amused.

Mako sighs and rubs his temples, feeling frustrated. Korra sees this, and feels a bit guilty, thinking she's messed up somehow, which was bewilderment to her; seeing that she didn't really care how she made people feel. "Is something wrong?" Korra asks, genuinely worried. Mako turns, seeing he's worried Korra. He even wondered if he should tell about the talking voice bugging him so recently. "I'm fine, I just…" he starts. Korra waits patiently for his answer. He lets out a long breath and finishes with

"Do you ever feel like there's someone in the back of your head, bugging the living shit out of you?" he asks bluntly, feeling like the biggest idiot in the world. _"I bug you? Mako, I'm hurt,"_ the conscience says spuriously. Korra looks at him strangely, wondering what he was talking about. But she does sort of know what he's talking about; back at the air temple, Ikki and Meelo was always up her ass, so she responds slowly

"Yeah, in a way." Mako looks at her, shocked by her answer. "You do?" Korra looks at him, a little worried. "Yeah, kinda," she replies, a little nervous. Then Mako just shakes his head and waves it off.

"Alright then," Korra looks at him questioningly. "What was bothering you?" she asks. Mako looks at her, a little embarrassed. "It was no—"

Mako then bumped into a young man, and then falling to the ground hard. Korra looked up to see that the other person fell down as well. But she saw that the guy was familiar; it was Bolin. Mako rubbed his head, looking up a little agitated. "Damn bro, that hurt," Mako said uncomfortably. "Sorry," Bolin apologized, smiling sheepishly. He then noticed that Korra was there, "Hey Korra, what's up?" he asked politely. Korra smiled, "I'm fine, are you alright?" Mako pulled Bolin up, "I'm great!" he exclaimed cheerily. Bolin then acknowledged that the two were _together_ in town. Bolin smiled and looked at his brother mischievously.

"Sooo, what brings you two to town today?" he asks in a fake innocent tone. Mako's cheeks flushed a little, knowing his brother had the wrong idea. Or maybe he didn't; Mako honestly didn't know himself.

"Oh, you know, went to get groceries," nodding at the bags he had in his hands, "hanging out with Korra," he answers, smiling at Korra. Mako then wonders what his brother is doing in town. "You?" he asks.

"Bolin! Are you coming soon?" a young girl with long dark hair asks impatiently, coming up from nowhere, pulling at Bolin's arm. Bolin looks at her reassuringly "Yeah, I'm just talking to my brother for a moment, I'm coming," he says with a flirtatious look in his eye. "Bro," Bolin calls, Mako looks up at him. Bolin nods for him to come with him. "I'ma steal Mako for a minute, you don't mind, do you Korra?" he asks, smiling knowingly. Korra's cheeks turn pink "Sure," she replies.

Bolin pulls Mako over and Mako can just tell by the look in his eye he had at least 1,000 questions. Mako sighed,

"Yeah?" Bolin just starts off with "How are things going?" Mako was taken aback by his simple question. "Um, good, you?" "They're going well," he replies. "I see things are going well with you and Korra," he says craftily. Mako arches an eyebrow confused.

"I know you're going to say something, so you might as well say it," Mako says straightforward. Bolin smiles, walks up and puts a hand on Mako's shoulder. "Just be careful Mako. But have fun too," he winks, but smiles at his brother assuring. Mako blinks, surprised by how understanding his brother is being. Mako smiles gratefully at his brother.

"Thanks bro." "No problem," Bolin says. "I just have one rule before all this begins." He states with a serious look, holding one finger up at him. Mako looks at him confused. "Try not to break anything," he says, smirking. Mako blushes brightly at this, surprised his brother would even _assume_ he'd do anything like that. "Bolin!" he said shocked. Bolin just laughed and pulled him back towards the Korra and Bolin's "lady friend". Bolin pushes Mako towards Korra and then says a little too loudly

"You kids have fun and Mako, no whip cream." Mako gaped at this remark, his face blazing in color. Korra just looked over confused, not knowing what it meant. "BOLIN!" he shouts in disbelief. Bolin chuckled hard and ran off with his friend.

Mako shook his head, feeling so embarrassed. "So we going?" Korra asked. Mako blinked, thanking the spirits she didn't catch what Bolin said. "Yeah, I guess we need to stop by my place, to put these up," he said, nodding towards the bags. Korra nodded, understanding. They started walking before they ran into Tahno and his gang again. Korra again became very hostile, and stood her ground, glaring. Tahno then smiled crookedly.

"I can't wait for our tournament, young avatar," he says walking towards Korra. "I'm sorry, let me correct myself. I can't wait till we _win_." He says smugly, and then passes Korra. Mako then had an idea, and he smiled craftily.

"Nice hair you got there Tahno," Mako comments, catching the attention of Tahno; he turns, then smiles. "Thanks." Mako's grin got wider as he said "It'd be terrible if anything happened to it," all five of his fingers going aflame with fire. Tahno's eyes almost looked terrified at his comment. They turned and walked away quickly. Korra turned to Mako, smiling so wide at him. They both began laughing uncontrollably.

"Oh my gosh, did you see his face? That was great!" Korra barely said, laughing so hard. "I know!" Mako replied laughing with her. Korra looks up at him surprised. "I didn't know you got so involved, messing with him like that. I'm impressed," Korra comments, smirking. Mako smiled at her sheepishly. Because honestly, in situations like that, he _wouldn't_ do anything. It surprised him that he did. "Thanks," he replied. Their laughter soon died down, and they made their way towards the Probending Arena

They soon made it to the attic in the Probending Arena, Mako fumbling with the keys; trying to find the one that opened the door. He finally opened it and the warm air from the room flowed out, warming their cold bodies from the outside air. Korra looked around, realizing she's never been in the young brothers' room. She saw a small dinner table in the middle of the room. She saw the kitchen; a basic stove and oven, with a small counter on each side, and a fridge. She then saw what looked like the living room; a small room with a couch, a small rug, and a small coffee table next to it with a radio. And then she saw 3 other rooms; 2 of them which must've been Bolin and Mako, and the other, the restroom she supposed.

"It's not fancy, but its home," Mako says, seeing Korra looking around. "I like it," Korra commented. She turned to see Mako putting all the food away. "I can help," she volunteers. Mako waves her off. "I got it, don't worry," he assures. "Look, just tell me where everything goes. I can't mess that up," she says. Mako looks at her skeptically, smirking. Korra punches his arm playfully, "I can do it!" she repeats. Mako shrugs his shoulders and lets her help. They put all the stuff up in wherever it was supposed to be; cabinets, fridge, etc. Then Korra got a really crazy idea.

Her eyes light up and she turns to Mako and says "I got an idea." Mako turns to her, arching an eyebrow at her. "Yeah?" Korra's smile got bigger as she asked "What if we made something to eat here?" Mako thought the idea sounded pretty great, though he was a bit nervous having her at his place, it'd be fun. Until she said _we _make something to eat, that is. "Hell no," he said sternly. Korra's once excited expression fell once he said that.

"Aw, why not?" she asked disappointed. Mako turned to her and said "I don't know if you've realized this yet, but I_ want_ to live, okay?" he says, now grinning. Korra grinned as well, balling up a plastic grocery bag and throwing it at him. "Smart ass," she says while laughing. Mako laughs at this but turns to Korra earnestly and says "Seriously though, I don't anything to burn up in here, and I especially don't want you to burn yourself," he explains, looking down a little embarrassed, noticing what he said.

Korra smiled, feeling a little daring at that moment. She walked up a little close to him, grabbed his hand and looked him straight in the eye. "But you're here, so I'll be safe," she whispered softly, but honestly. This made his heart beat erratically, and he began backing away from the close contact. "Please?" she begged in the sweetest voice, intertwining her fingers in his. Mako noticed this and his cheeks lit up brightly. Her eyes were just cutting through him as he tried to determine how he'll respond. _"If you don't let her, I'm staying," _the conscience threatens. "Okay," Mako said, not only convinced by Korra's awe striking expression, but he'll be damned if he had to hear that "thing" again.

"Yay!" Korra cheered, jumping in the air. Mako sighed, praying to the spirits that she wouldn't burn anything. Then Korra turned to him, looking into his eyes intensely, and retrieving Mako's hands. "Thank you," she said gratefully, smiling radiantly up at him. "I'll be very careful, I promise," she declared. Mako smiled back down at her, and closed his hand in hers. "Just make sure you follow everything I say," he directed. Korra nodded, and they got to work. _"I don't know what it is about him, but I'm always so…at ease around him. Maybe, this is where I belong. Maybe he's my safe place. My sanctuary," _Korra thought, feeling complacent by his side.

**A/N: AOSIAOWEGMDLFGOGAHRIERG. THE AWKWARD MOMENT WHEN AUTO CORRECT MISTAKES KORRA FOR KOREA XD Anyways, I tried, I really did, I know, nothing really happened, I'm sorry, but I have a pretty good feeling you'll love the next chapter coming up ;) I can't even wait to finish writing it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even if my humor is a little flaky :/ welllll, please review and let me know what you think, anything is welcome, thanks so much for reading! :)**


	6. Peace at Last

**A/N: Hi guys! I'm dying to hear your reviews about my last chapter :D I hope you liked it, even if it was a little strange xD I'm actually prettty confident this one will settle your impatient minds tho :) you shall see what I mean if you read ;D hope yyou like it!**

**DISCLAIMAR: I own NOTHING but my plot. And Mako's conscience XD **

"So what do we do first?" Korra questions, stretching her arms as if she was about to train for her bending. Mako rolls his eyes, "We wash our hands silly," he replies. Korra looked dumbfounded for a second, and responded with "Okay." They went to the sink diagonal from the stove. Mako turned on the facet and let the water run out. He was about to wash his hands before he saw the water _move_ in the air away from the facet and into Korra's hands. Mako snickers at this.

"Handy trick you got there, think you can save some for me at least?" Mako asks banteringly. Korra smirks as she replied, "Sure, here," she made a motion with her hands that made the water smack in his face. Mako was flabbergasted. In no way, did he see that that coming. Mako smiles wickedly.

"Oh you're getting it now," he assured, grabbing Korra around the waist, trapping her arms as well. Korra squealed, blushing and kicking violently. "Let me go!" she demands, but in a playful tone.

He then put her down, audaciously cornering her, both of his arms trapping her on each side of her on the counter, her hands holding her up on the flat surface behind her. "Or what?" he asks, now very close to her. Korra blushed at his close contact, but she went along with it. She smirked as she jerked his scarf down, closing the space a little bit further between them, surprising the firebender. "Or someone just might get hurt," Korra threatened almost amorously. Mako was a little stunned, but he grinned crookedly and got right next to her face. "Bring it," Mako whispered in her ear, sensing the shiver going down her spine, grinning even more at this.

"I'm BA-ACK," Bolin chirps, strolling in the door before stopping very abruptly and observing the sight before him, smiling widely. Mako then pushes himself away from Korra very quickly, avoiding eye contact; her doing likewise. "It's not what you think," Mako tries to assure Bolin but he knew it was useless. Bolin just shook his head, tsking at the two. "I'm very disappointed in you, Mako," Bolin scolds. Mako blushes deeply at this. "Oh well, at least you didn't break anything. You didn't break that deal, so I'll let this one slide," Bolin decides, winking. Mako slapped his hand at his face in shame. Bolin then walked over to this brother, putting an arm around his brother. "Calm down bro, it's fine," Bolin tries and comforts.

"By the way," Bolin slows down a little, having a look that said he needed something in his eyes. "I'm gonna need a little bit more money.." Bolin asks, smiling a little shamefaced. Mako looked disapprovingly at his brother. He knew that they were already tight on money as it is. He told him anyways.

"Bolin…" he said slowing to a stop, knowing he was going to have to hear him out already. Bolin held up his hands "I know what you're gonna say, just hear me out. It's for something we'll all enjoy!" he claims. Mako looked at his brother skeptically, knowing his brother's antics. Mako sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "C'mon, please?" Bolin begged, giving his best puppy eyes. Mako looked up and smiled at Bolin, knowing he wouldn't relent. He exhaled loudly and gave in.

"Go ahead," he said, pointing towards his room. Bolin jumped and shouted "Yoo hoo! Thanks bro," he said, passing by him towards his room. "Yeah, sure," rolling his eyes, smiling though. Korra smiled at the young brothers' relationship. They had an impeccably indestructible bond with each other, and she admired that. He soon got the amount of money he needed and was just heading out the door before he turned and said in an authority-like tone "You kids behave now," and with a wink, he left.

Korra turned to Mako, seeing he was still a bit embarrassed. She smiled though, trying to forget the previous event. "We gonna cook this or what? I'm starving!" she exclaimed, smiling. Mako turns to her, knowing she really had to be, seeing that she arrived to the arena so early and all, she couldn't have had enough time to eat.

"Yeah," he replies. He got out a box of long, thin noodles, a bag of frozen vegetables and diced chicken. Korra eyed all the contents in wonder, pursing her lips in contemplation on how they were gonna cook it. Mako laughed at her concentrated expression. "Don't blow a gasket, Korra," he warned, grinning and poking at her head. She waved his hand away. "So how are we gonna do this?" she asks curiously.

"First, we get out the materials to actually _cook_ the stuff in," he says, amused by her awed expression. He got out a generously large pot and a medium sized sauce pan. Korra just stands there and observes it all, absorbing everything in for future reference. Mako then fills the pot to the middle with water and puts the pot on the stove. Korra notices what Mako's doing when he puts his hands around the pot, concentrating. Korra then pulls on his arm, worried, looking back on what she did to her mom's poor kitchen. Mako chuckles a bit at her expression

"It'll be fine, I have patience, unlike some people," Mako says ridiculing. Korra looks down embarrassed at this. "Look, you just have to have patience. That's the most important key," he explained. Korra looked up and observed what he was doing.

"You just wait…" he says, then he slowly emitted heat into the pot of water, and after a minute or two, the water was boiling hard. Korra looked at it awestruck, and then looked at Mako amazed. "That was amazing!" she appraised, smiling up at him. Mako looked at her, amused by her comment. He rubbed the back of his head,

"It was nothing. It's like I said before, it takes patience," he repeated, smiling sheepishly. "Now, it's your turn," he directed. Korra's eye widened at this, in fear. Mako saw this, and began laughing. "Calm down, you can do it," he assures, smiling.

"You're a waterbender, you can cool the water down, right?" he asked. Korra knew she could. She just didn't know if she could cool down the _fire_ she might make. "Yeah, I can," she replies, rubbing her hands together, then putting her hands above the water, immediately cooling it down to room temperature. Mako's eyes widen, surprised, seeing how fast it took her.

"Okay, now you try," he says, nudging her towards the pot. Korra looks at it doubtfully, and then looks back at Mako worried. Mako nods at her encouragingly. "It's like you said, I'll be here, so everything will be alright," he said, repeating her words. Korra smiled and then looked down at the pot again, with a new confidence. She put her hands around the pot, and tried to slowly emit heat out of her fingers, although she went a little fast at times, she finished successfully. She smiled wide and turned to Mako. "I did it!" she exclaimed ecstatically. Mako smirked, "I told you, you could."

She jumped up and wrapped her arms around Mako's neck, hugging him excitedly, making Mako freeze and flush a little. "Thanks Mako!" she said, pulling back and giving him the most beautiful smile. Mako smiled back and responded "No problem."

"I guess I'll do the rest," Mako suggested, going to turn on the stove to warm the sauce pan before opening the plastic bag of frozen vegetables. Korra rested her elbow on the counter, holding her head up on her hand. She eyed the bag, smirking before saying sarcastically "Frozen veggies in a bag. Very authentic, Mako." Mako chuckled at her remark. "Hey, sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do. Besides, you said you were hungry," he explained, dumping the vegetables into the now sizzling pan, and then stirring them.

He soon finished, and served a generous amount to Korra at the dinner table. "Thank you very much," Korra thanked, smelling the delicious food. "You're welcome," he replied. He felt kind of funny, having Korra at his house, him fixing food for her. But in a way, it felt right. Like all of this belonged. "The food smells great Mako!" she acclaimed. Mako blushed lightly; no one ever really commented on his cooking. He felt a little surge of pride build up in his chest. "Thanks," he said appreciatively.

Korra then took a bite of the delectable serving of food below her. When she tasted it, she swore it was probably the best noodles she's ever had in her life. Mako saw her stunned expression and looked at her dubiously. "Oh my gosh, this has got to be one of the best things I've ever put in my mouth," she exclaimed, astonished. _"Insert dirty comment here,"_ the voice jeered. _"OH. MY. GOD," _Mako screams internally. He ignored and answered Korra.

"You really think so?" he inquires, feeling proud of himself. Korra looks at him incredulously. "Hell yeah! Where'd you learn to cook like that?" she asks purely interested. Mako looked down sheepishly at his plate. "I had to learn sometime or later, I guess you could say," he responded. He then looked blankly at his plate, thinking he forgot something. He then got up and went to his cupboard, pushing stuff around, looking for something specific. Korra looked at him, a little amused.

"Ah, there it is," Mako says to himself, pulling out a bottle of spice. He walks back to his seat, and Korra looks to see that its curry powder. She then makes a face of disgust. Mako looked at her, blinking a few times. "What?"

"You eat that on your noodles?" she questions incredulously. Mako raises an eyebrow at her, confused. "Yeah, why?" he questions. She then wonders if it actually tastes good. "Is it good?" she asks skeptically. Mako smirks and replies

"Yeah! I always eat it on stuff like this. Wanna try?" he asks, handing the spice over to her after he sprinkled it all over his serving of food. She hesitantly grabs it, staring at it. Mako sits there, wating for her to try it. She then puts it on a tiny part of her food. When she tastes it, she makes a look so bizarre; Mako gave a new meaning to the saying roll-on-the-floor-laughing. "Only the Avatar!" he barely says, laughing so hard. Korra blushes a bit;

"How do you eat that?" she asks ludicrously, still trying to get the taste out of her mouth. He turns to her, after his laughing fit. "I don't know, I've just always liked it," he explained simply. He then looks down, looking a bit nostalgic. Korra looks at him, and asks "You alright?"

He looks up and smiles. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just when you made that expression, it reminded me of how my mom looked when I got her to try it one day when I was little…" he explained, his voice getting a little lower with every word. Korra looked at him sympathetically. "Mako…"

He then turns his expression around, smiling brightly at Korra. "It's alright," he says. He then shivers out of nowhere. "You cold, Korra?" he asks randomly. Korra thought about it; seeing that she lived in the Southern Water Tribe her whole life, it took a LOT to make her cold.

"Nope, I'm fine," she responds. Mako went to go look out the now blurry, fog-filled window. He opened it to see tiny snowflakes flying in heavy herds everywhere, the ground now snowy. This took Mako by surprise. He knew it was cold out when they went to town today, but not _this_ cold.

"Wow…" Korra said in amazement, the snow making her sky blue eyes brighter with excitement. "It's finally snowing here!" she said, elated. Mako, although, didn't really feel excited at all by the snow. Like water, it didn't interest him.

Korra looked over at Mako with a look of pure happiness. Mako smiled at her, knowing she must enjoy it; it reminding her of home and all. She stands there, her arm resting on the side of the wood on the open window. "This is great! I can tell tomorrow's gonna be a great day, once all this snow gets deep," she thought out loud. "I can finally make snow monsters and scare the shit out of Ikki and Meelo," she said mischievously. Mako almost tripped over at her comment. "I'm sorry; snow monsters?"

"Yeah! I can control the snow too, ya know. I used to build them and terrorize the people in my village when I was younger," she said, reminiscing on the past. Mako snickered; "That sounds like something you'd do," he replied teasingly. Korra rolled her eyes and then looked out the window again.

"Oh crap! The ferry's closed down due to all the snow," Korra says, pointing at the now closed ferry ride. Korra sighs, head falling and her shoulders slumping forward. "I guess I'm gonna have to swim all the way back to the island," she thought dreadfully.

Mako thought about the frigid waters out there right now, and when Korra would have to swim home. "Maybe you could stay here today," he asked bluntly, without thinking. Korra turned to him, eyes wide.

"Really?" she asked. Mako blushed fervently; "Yeah, I know how cold it is out there right now, and it'd be terrible if you froze in a block of ice for a hundred years in that water like Avatar Aang did," he stated, teasing. Korra laughed at this. "True. Plus I never give up a chance to mess with Tenzin's head," she agreed, grinning. "Thanks again," she said to Mako. "No problem," he replied, smiling.

"I'm back again!" Bolin announces, only his voice was a little strained. They both turned to see Bolin carrying a large box. Mako grinned and went to help his brother with the box; while Korra closed the windows. "So what's in the box?" Mako asks stupidly. Bolin grinned and replied grandly "Only the greatest entertainment system we will ever have!" He opened it to reveal a pretty large TV set.

"I bought this on discount from the Triple Threat Triad from doing work for them back in the day," Bolin explained. Mako then glared at his brother. "I told you to stay away from them Bolin!" he scolded. Bolin raised his hands to defend himself from his brother's yelling. "I know, I know, I just thought maybe you'd like this though… don't get mad," he pleaded, fidgeting with his fingers.

Mako sighs, face palming "Well, since you already got it, set it up," he seemingly ordered. Bolin smiled again; "Okay!"

He soon set up the TV in the middle of the living room floor, and they all ended up watching some movie called The Last Airbender; they all disapproved of it, from the sound of the names and the sucky actors to the very poorly written dialogue. "That was…" Bolin tried to come up with a way to describe the movie. "The movie was shit, we know," Korra stated bluntly; Mako snickering at her comment. "She's right bro, the movie wasn't all that great," Mako agreed. Bolin's face fell and sighed. "Sorry, I just thought the movie looked cool. You guys can choose the movie next time," he suggested. "Gladly," Mako acceded.

"Well, Ima go to bed, you guys," Bolin announced, yawning loudly. "You guys behave now," he warned, walking off into his room. Mako blushed a little at that; Korra as well. "You want some tea?" Mako offered. Korra shook her head, taking off her hairpieces, her overcoat and her pelt. Mako noticed her hair looked really good down. Korra smirked, seeing him glancing at her. He then brought a blanket and a pillow from a nearby closet and gave it to Korra to sleep with on the couch. But she did nothing but sat up, holding herself very similar to the way she was earlier today. Mako sighed and sat down beside her; "Something wrong?" he asks sincere. Korra looked over and smiled weakly at him. "I'm not sleeping tonight," she stated.

"What? Why not?" Mako asked worried. Korra turned towards him; "Because very recently, whenever I sleep, my nightmares sometimes get so bad to where I scream uncontrollably…And I don't want to worry Bolin, seeing that I've already bothered you. I just want you t—" Korra was stopped mid-sentence by Mako's lips suddenly connecting with hers. Korra's whole body freezes at this; trying to regain her thoughts, feeling fire run through her veins the second their lips touched. Although, she gladly accepted it and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer to him, mirthfully enjoying the passion of the kiss. Mako did as well, overjoyed that he's finally able to express his feelings towards her in a way she'd only understand. Although, they soon break apart, and Korra gives him the most confusing look. Mako chuckles softly and pulls Korra gently towards him again.

"Korra, it's like I've said before, I don't want you to worry about things like that; because I _want _to help you Korra. In any way I can." Korra grabs his hand, intertwining her fingers in his, holding it tight. "But…why?" She questions slowly. Mako hadn't really prepared himself for this part, but he summoned enough courage to say it. With his heart beating inconsistently and his body slightly shaken, he confesses

"Because I love you Korra." Korra's heart began beating beyond abnormally, and her eyes wide with shock. Mako looked at Korra, a little scared that she didn't feel the same way. But then Korra gives him the most celestial smile he's ever seen on her face and her eyes glowed with passion, which calmed Mako down a bit. "So I guess you—" Mako was then interrupted when Korra smashed her lips against his heatedly. She wrapped her legs eagerly around his small frame while he pulled her tightly to his chest, deepening the kiss. They eventually broke apart, both left slightly breathless. Korra then smiled against his mouth, whispering

"I love you too," which made Mako's golden eyes light up as bright as the sun. Korra hugged him, feeling exultant, him feeling the same. He then pulled her chin up towards him. "So do you think you can sleep now?" he asked smiling widely at her, feeling like he was on top of the world. Korra looked down, blushing brightly, her hand on chest, feeling her irregular heartbeat. "I'm not really sure if I can now.." she responded, smiling knowingly. Mako blinked a bit and then grinned and said mischievously "I guess I'll have to wear you down a bit, huh?" Korra blushed brightly at this, but pulled him towards her, smiling devilishly. "I suppose so," she replies wily. Mako grins and they continued trading affectionate touches, fervent kisses and teasing whispers throughout the night. But they soon realize the late hour.

"Goodnight," he said his voice soothing, trying to lull her to sleep without any nightmares. Korra, now lying down, looked up into his eyes intensely. He began stroking her hair comfortingly, her eyes slowly drooping. Mako grinned at this, but then felt a squeeze on his hand from Korra. "Please don't leave," she begged sleepily, her eyes now closed. Mako smiled and whispered in her ear assuringly "I wouln't leave for the world." And even though she was slowly falling asleep, her cheeks blushed pink. Mako laughed softly, caressing her cheeks; "there's that blush again," he says smiling. "Shut up," Korra manages to mumble before falling into a blissful sleep.

**A/N: so what did you guys think? It was pretty intimate, but trust me, I could've added a lot more detail to it, but I just decided not to :P I thought this chapter ended pretty darn well, if I do say so myself. I really hope you guys liked it, BY THE WAY, this is not the last chapter, there is still 1 MORE coming up soon, so I really hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review, give some tips, etc :D**


End file.
